They sit on his couch, his head on her lap as they watch a re-run of her favorite soap opera. He glances at her occasionally and smiles every time. She manages a grin now and then but soon stops smiling all together, an expression he is now familiar with.
"What's wrong love?" He says as he looks up at her
"Hm? Oh it's nothing, I'm fine." She says as she tries to act like she's still watching
"Love, you know I know when you're lying." He reaches up to her and brushes away a part of her hair to see her face and then places his hand on her cheek.
"No, stop. It's nothing. Let's just keep watching." She tries to push away his hand only to have him hold onto hers
"Love, you've stopped watching for awhile now. Talk to me, please." He says as he turns off the tv and sits up close to her, still holding on tight to her hand
She looks away from him and tries to lean away, slumping on the couch's arm. He leans on her and puts his head on her shoulder. He knows what to do, at this point he should. Loving her was never easy, but it wasn't really that hard and it was always worth it. From memorizing her body cues to knowing just what to say or do to put her at peace. All along, she would struggle just the same. Try as she might she could never get around to truly opening up. She would, at times, let him in and see her cry or show him her true smile but on these rare occasions she feels all too vulnerable and recoils as soon as she does. However she does have her moments, what she can't show through emotions she does through small acts of kindness that he always appreciates and feels. From the way she makes his coffee to small little gifts on their dining table, she always knew what would perk him up for the day.
As they lay there, him over her and her over the couch arm he thinks of what could be the problem and she thinks of what could keep him from pressing the question.
"Please, just stop. It's alright. I'm alright." She says through the cushion muffling her voice as she tries to hide away
"I know you're not, you know you're not. So please talk to me. What's eating at you?" He says as he played around with her curly blonde hair
"It's.... It's just.... why me?" She says as she slowly turns towards him
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"I mean, why did you choose me? Why do you love me? Why are you still with me?"
He thinks for awhile then smiles as he sits back up properly while keep a hand to run up and down her back
"Well, it's because you were made of glass."
She looks at him weirdly then leans into him, her head on his chest and his arm wrapping around her.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Remember that glass vase I bought for our apartment last month?"
"I remember, I liked that vase a lot. It was really pretty."
"It was, wasn't it? I especially liked how it was beautiful both inside and out. How you could see the intricacy of its design whichever way you looked. That whenever you would shine a light onto it, it would give out an amazing rainbow."
He then wraps his other arm around her and kisses her forehead.
"Love, you do know that I'm not talking about just the vase right?"
Her eyes widen as she realizes his metaphors and quickly blushes and looks away.
"Okay, but still. Look what happened to it." She says as she looks onto their coffee table. There stands a glass vase, broken and with chips and cracks at various places but standing firmly on its own and even giving out a kaleidoscope of colors onto the table as sunlight pours out from a window
"You're right, look at it. I'll admit it is fragile, but I guess all the best vases are. You can't blame them though, that's just how glass is. It's beautiful and precious, yet fragile which makes them so much more valuable. Look at it though, it's still there standing on its own. It was broken, yes, but I didn't give up on it. I loved that vase and I couldn't possibly think of it being in that broken state, so I put it back together. Yes, it was hard and yes it took time, but it was also well worth it. He says as he pulls her closer, holds her tighter and finally plants a kiss on her forehead.
"And so are you love, so are you."
